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SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Malaysia-based PMB Facade used Autodesk Inventor software to develop architectural facades for some of the world’s most astonishing and eye-catching buildings, including Qatar’s Al-Bidda Tower, a 43-story building, also known as Tornado Tower. For this and other innovative work, PMB Facade has been named by Autodesk, Inc., as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for September.

In architecture, the facade is often considered the most important part of a building, setting the first impression of a structure. In addition to the Al-Bidda Tower, PMB Facade created a floating “sky park” perched atop three 200-meter-tall hotel towers at the luxurious Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore.

The ability to digitally simulate and predict real-world performance before construction has provided PMB Facade with some important competitive advantages. The company reduced material cost and waste by as much as 15 percent and delivered projects in up to 30 percent less time, helping the company to secure more business.

“We cannot afford to make mistakes. We are involved in symbolic projects that serve as landmarks of the country,” said Seng Jee Tong, chief operating officer of PMB Facade. “There is no second chance. For a local company such as ours to win international bids, we need to outthink and outperform global players. Autodesk Inventor helps us to do that.”

Digital prototyping means competitive advantage
As part of the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping, Autodesk Inventor has played a key role in helping PMB Facade tackle some extremely demanding projects.

To visualize the twist design for the Al-Bidda Tower, the PMB Facade team used Inventor to create a 3D version of the tower and subject it to rotation at every level. This enabled the team to digitally simulate the real-world performance of the exterior curtain wall wrapping around the tower shaft and to correct any imperfections as early as possible in the design process.

For the Marina Bay Sands project, PMB Facade used Inventor to design, visualize and validate the complicated exterior shell of the SkyPark, optimizing the design for weight and safety. The team also easily converted 2D technical drafts on paper into digital 3D models, integrated the information into a single digital model and presented the 3D design to decision makers to enable more accurate visualization of the design ideas.

“PMB Facade is using Digital Prototyping technology to successfully compete at the highest global levels,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. “Tools such as Inventor help them improve collaboration, reduce costs and speed up the fabrication process as they transform great concepts into reality.”